Better options than marriage? Think again
February 15, 2025
One of America’s leading academic marriage experts, Brad Wilcox, professor of sociology at the University of Virginia, points out that Andrew Tate, “the biggest voice in the online manosphere today — with more than 12 billion views on TikTok alone — is no fan of marriage.” But Tate and his male followers are not alone in feeling apprehensive about lifelong commitment. Growing numbers of young women likewise want to decenter, even exclude, men from their lives. Others form partnerships only as long as they’re personally fulfilling. And more and more men and women experiment with varieties of coupling that include nontraditional configurations.
Appealing substitutes to marriage that emerged during the sexual revolution of the 1960s and ’70s are proliferating today. Wilcox categorizes them as going solo, soulmatism and family diversity. They don’t require the level of commitment and sacrifice, or, in many cases, monogamy of matrimony and get promoted across social media by powerful influencers. The rewards of freedom, self-fulfillment and open options resonate with a generation largely ambivalent about the value of marriage. One recent national poll found that 55% of single women believe that they have happier lives than married women. (Only 22% of married women agree.)
